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Monday, April 06, 2009

L'Ecritoire

Two years ago I passed papeterie L'Ecritoirein the Marais,61 rue St. Martin, but it was closed. This trip I let them know I was coming. They even remembered my PB photo of 2 years ago.Like many Paris boulangeries and restos, they have a menu in the street. Inside this tiny shoebox shop it's chocked full of treasures. Many cards mostly from small unique producers.La plume de ma tante is here. And l'encre de ma tante to dip your pen into. An Eiffel Tower clock ticks away while you write lettres.Cahiers/notebooks are used by French children to write down their thoughts, stories, memoires in blue ink. Then their instructor comes along and writes in red ink in the margin: bien, tres bien, pas si bien. L'Eritoire creates their own unique unusually-shaped envelopes. Special writing paper fits inside. Sealing wax to add your own coat of arms to your envelope.Many goodies in red - pens, inks, envelopes, letters at L'Ecritoire...

And a few meters away on the other side of the street Les Délices de Saint Martin,24, Rue St Martin.

We used to have a little shop like this. It was my go-to for interesting birthday gifts for friends. It closed a while ago. Do you think my husband would believe me if I said I had to visit Paris for birthday presents? If I said it was for his mother? Merci for a lovely coffee break moment.

Carol, do you know anywhere that sells those envelope's as l would love them in the triangle and the round ones. I thought they would be nice with a thank you card when anyone bought a painting. The triangle one reminds me of the Eiffel towerJill

Thank you for this beautiful essay from such a lovely treasure chest of a store!

I had the same cahiers in school. I loved to keep them neat to the end, without the red teacher's! We got a grade each for penmanship and neatness. I am grateful to this day for the handwriting skills they taught me back then. :)

Merci for all your recommendations...I am LOVING living on rue Bonaparte!!!! The shopping, the restaurants and the ambiance are merveillieux! I started a refresher course for French and it is awesome - Atelier 9. I'm thrilled to have another few weeks here, so if you come back, I'll buy you a macaron :)Welcome back home,Janie

Dear PB,You gave me so much joy everyday. You even brought me springtime in Paris and the Tour Eiffel! Thank you for your energy and delight. I can't wait until you return. In the meantime, how about a New York Breakfast? Merci beaucoup! Au revoir and bon chance!

Have you also noticed how lovely french handwriting is? They learn that early in school...unfortunately when we moved from Paris to London, my son's British school discouraged/forbid!! cursive and my son lost that gorgeous loopy script. Now he's like all his anglo friends---they use block letters or their Macs...

Did you ever wander into the spice store in the 2nd or 4th, Izrael? An ali baba of scents and colours...

I' sure I've said it before, but NOW I'm really jealous! Paper and red ink are my life! ONe can never have too much paper and never too much red ink. I must admit, however, When it comes to snail mail, I observe it more in my imagination than in reality..

Hej Carol, glad to read you had a very good time again in Paris! Still your postings always make my day – it’s inspiration, fun and so brilliantly French, you know!?Merci beaucoup et bonne journée pour toi, Carol!Greetings from sunny Hamburg, Doreen

Loved your photos! Just came back from a trip to Paris and we had to go to L'Ecritoire after seeing your pictures. What an adorable place! Those envelopes were really cute, though now I'm doubting they are mailable in the US.

Unfortunately for my husband, our whole week in Paris seemed to be focused on visiting paper stores (there were maybe 5 others?). I think I am obsessed, too. Happily, though, paper stores in Paris seem to offer a lot more for calligraphy than do stores here in the US. I love paper, and my husband loves calligraphy. It's a good match in Paris.

Paris Letters

♥carol gillott♥

l'Ile Saint Louis, Paris, Ile de France, France

Hi I'm Carol Gillott,
My Mom taught me watercolors at 5. I'm still at it, now tripping over cobblestones, living in a 6th-floor garret on l'Ile Saint-Louis, Paris. Read Parisbreakfast with a hot chocolate and croissant.
I paint Paris breakfasts.